This is a collection of news about border issues, particularly those seen from Arizona and regarding the right to keep and bear arms. Sources often include Mexican media. It's often interesting to see how different the view is from the south.
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AZMEX I3 6-1-12

Two car chases through Southeast Valley neighborhoods and Interstate 10 ended Friday morning after both cars were pulled over in separate locations.

A DPS officer began following a stolen car on the westbound I-10 when another car bumped the DPS car in an apparent attempt to draw attention away from the stolen 2012 Dodge minivan, according to Department of Public Safety.

The DPS officer continued following the stolen minivan and eventually made a traffic stop along with several other DPS units near Warner and McQueen roads in Gilbert, according to authorities.

Twenty-three people got out of the minivan and were detained by the DPS officers.

The woman driver of the minivan was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling and theft of a vehicle. The minivan was registered to a rental car company out of Guadalupe.

The other car was stopped near Rural and Elliot roads in Tempe and the two occupants also were detained, Drobnik said. The driver was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and theft of a vehicle.

Jason De Leon, a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, will talk about a long-term study of the contemporary migration of people from Northern Sonora to Southern Arizona at the eighth annual Santa Cruz Valley Border Issues Concert and Fair on Jan. 13-14.

Margo Cowan, a Pima County public defender and champion of migrants rights for 25 years, also will speak.

The annual fair will be held at Good Shepherd United Church of Christ, 17750 S. La Cañada, Sahuarita.

Entertainer/activist Holly Near, accompanied by John Bucchino, kicks off the fair at 7 p.m. Jan. 13. Tickets for the concert are $20; advance tickets available at the church.

Cost for the fair is $10. Attendees are asked to bring winter hats and gloves, belts, and backpacks for those in the desert.

The number of illegal border crossers arrested in the Yuma Sector this fiscal year is at an all-time low, while there has also been a decrease in the amount of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines seized, according to recently released official figures from the Border Patrol.

Yuma Sector agents apprehended 5,833 illegal crossers along its 126- mile stretch of international border with Mexico during fiscal year 2011. Agent Spencer Tippets, of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, said the apprehension figures represent a 43-year low and 18 percent reduction from the previous year.

"It is more proof that we have operational control of the border," Tippets said. "There is no way to know what will happen from year to year, but as Border Patrol agents we hope that each year we get better and better at our jobs."

Tippets added that the last time apprehension figures were this low was in 1968 when agents apprehended 6,004 would-be border crossers, and there has been a reduction in apprehensions every year since 2005. Apprehensions do not necessarily depict the total number of people illegally crossing the border, but the amount of people who were actually caught.

Back in 2005, there were 138,000 arrests within the Yuma Sector, with the Yuma Station being the busiest of all 146 Border Patrol stations. Tippets said there has been a decrease in those arrests every year except for fiscal year 2010, where there was a slight increase. There were 7,116 arrests in 2010, 6,951 in 2009, 8,363 in 2008 and 37,992 in 2007.

Tippets said the Yuma Sector also saw decreases across the board in the volume of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines seized this recently completed fiscal year. Of these, he said, marijuana remained the most seized with 31,109 pounds being confiscated — a 16 percent decrease compared with last fiscal year.

"We have seen a reduction in every type of drug we track. Drug traffickers are still trying to smuggle their drugs, but we are still catching them."

Tippets said the successes, not just from this year but from past years, can be attributed to the dedicated efforts of Yuma Sector agents, significant investments in technology, increased tactical infrastructure and partnerships with local law enforcement agencies.

Some of those improvements over the years were a substantial increase in personnel, deploying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft on a regular basis to support their ground surveillance, the addition of vehicle and pedestrian fencing, lighting and all-weather patrol roads, as well as receiving mobile surveillance systems, trucks with radar and cameras that can scan an entire area.

Tippets added that rescue missions continued to focus on efforts to preserve human life in the harsh desert terrain of the Yuma Sector. Last fiscal year, Yuma Sector agents rescued seven people who were stranded or lost and in need of medical care and helped in the recovery of the remains of two who had died.

This figure, Tippets said, represents a 95 percent decrease from the high mark of 40 recoveries during fiscal year 2006. There were no reported deaths in the Yuma Sector last fiscal year.

Other highlights from fiscal year 2011 include the August implementation of Operation Hardball, which has Border Patrol agents assisting customs officers at the San Luis port of entry, and the integrated Customs and Border Protection Citizens Academy.

The Yuma Sector, together with the San Luis port and the Yuma Air Branch, hosted the first-ever integrated academy in which 20 community members received interactive demonstrations and firsthand knowledge of the functions, roles and responsibilities of the individual CBP components.

Tippets said the community members learned how those components work together to establish a secure and safe border environment, as well as improve the quality of life for affected communities throughout Arizona.